Inshore: The Speckled Trout bite continues to be good. The live shrimp are getting more scarce so many fishermen are switching to Vudu and Bass Assassin. The water temps have cooled a bit, so the Trout will begin to look for areas with less tidal flow and dark bottom; these areas warm up quicker and stay warmer than surround water. Places like this include the Ocean Isle and Holden Beach canal systems, Coquina, SeaScape and Bald Head harbors. The hot colors have been clear with sparkle flake and natural colors such as greens and oranges and blues.

Offshore: The weather has been volatile since the holiday weekend, but you can be rest assured the Wahoo and King Mackerel are still out there. At last report, the King were in the 80' depth range at the Horseshoe and the Atlantic Ledge. I would expect them to still be in those areas, maybe a few miles further out. The Wahoo are here for the Winter, and it is just a matter of following your temperature charts to find where the warm water crosses over the 180' depth curve, this is where the Wahoo should be. Also don't forget that starting Jan 1 the Bluefin Tuna season will come back open. I don't know if you've been watching the news, but there have been more Whale sightings than normal this Fall and Whales mean Bluefin. Get your gear ready.

ABOUT THE OCEAN ISLE FISHING CENTEROur mission at the Ocean Isle Fishing Center is to be the ultimate source for fishing in the Carolinas; providing the what, when, where and how-to you need to be a better fisherman. Beyond helping you to "be good", the Ocean Isle Fishing Center can help you "look good" as well. Featuring products by Guy Harvey, Salt Life, Pelagic, Huk, Atlantic Drift, Southern Marsh and Southern Fried Cotton.

OIFC TOP 5 SIMPLE BUT MEANINGFUL GIFT IDEAS

1-OIFC GIFT CARD. Whether for that special fisherman who knows just what he needs or your fisherwoman who would rather look good than be good, an OIFC GIFT CARD will answer the call.

Inshore: The Speckled Trout bite continues to be good. The live shrimp are getting more scarce so many fishermen are switching to Vudu and Bass Assassin. The water temps have cooled a bit, so the Trout will begin to look for areas with less tidal flow and dark bottom; these areas warm up quicker and stay warmer than surround water. Places like this include the Ocean Isle and Holden Beach canal systems, Coquina, SeaScape and Bald Head harbors. The hot colors have been clear with sparkle flake and natural colors such as greens and oranges and blues.

Offshore: The weather has been volatile since the holiday weekend, but you can be rest assured the Wahoo and King Mackerel are still out there. At last report, the King were in the 80' depth range at the Horseshoe and the Atlantic Ledge. I would expect them to still be in those areas, maybe a few miles further out. The Wahoo are here for the Winter, and it is just a matter of following your temperature charts to find where the warm water crosses over the 180' depth curve, this is where the Wahoo should be. Also don't forget that starting Jan 1 the Bluefin Tuna season will come back open. I don't know if you've been watching the news, but there have been more Whale sightings than normal this Fall and Whales mean Bluefin. Get your gear ready.

ABOUT THE OCEAN ISLE FISHING CENTEROur mission at the Ocean Isle Fishing Center is to be the ultimate source for fishing in the Carolinas; providing the what, when, where and how-to you need to be a better fisherman. Beyond helping you to "be good", the Ocean Isle Fishing Center can help you "look good" as well. Featuring products by Guy Harvey, Salt Life, Pelagic, Huk, Atlantic Drift, Southern Marsh and Southern Fried Cotton.

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

As many of you are aware, Bluefin Tuna have become a viable fishing opportunity off our coast. Some years are better than others, but this year was looking very promising as many fish were being spotting in the 10-20 mile range. However, the season that allows both recreational and commercial harvest of Bluefin was taken away from NC fishermen due to what can logically be called " a political win " by the Northeast fishermen. In an unprecedented move, the commercial Bluefin Tuna retention limit was increased to 5 fish over the Summer. When the bite turned on in the Fall, the total available quota for the entire year was caught up, leaving nothing for NC fishermen. So here we are sitting on our hands; we've been politically outplayed. We are hoping that the Bluefin season quota will reset come Jan 1 which will allow fishing from NC waters, but that is uncertain and does not help us for this prime, peak month of December. Below is an email chain that Rube McMullan of the OIFC recently exchanged with Michelle Duval, of NCDENR, also NC's representative on the SE Atlantic advisory panel. Please see there are a couple of link to email and give input to those who do make the Tuna quota regulation decisions.

At OIFC we are hearing from a lot of upset fishermen regarding how the allocation of Giant Bluefin Tuna was used up by the northern fishermen before the fish had a chance to get to North Carolina. Apparently the Commission increased the quota for the northern US waters to 5 fish per day. The result is the entire quota was used up.

We are seeing Bluefin up and down our NC coast, but due to the Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission allowing a increase in the daily catch quota in the northern US waters, NC is banned from the fishery until next year.

As North Carolina's representative on the South Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission, do you have any input on the actions of the commission in terms of insuring NC gets it's fair share of these fish? I recall this same issue came up some years ago, and Dr. Daniels[and you] jumped in the middle of it to protect the interest of the NC fishermen by insuring there was quota reserved for our NC waters.

Please share with me what info you can on this subject so we can pass on to our fishermen.

The possession limits for bluefin tuna are set by the National Marine Fisheries Service Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Division. They have the option to adjust the General Category retention limits for bluefin from one to five fish for each of the sub-quota periods throughout the year, and can also adjust that retention limit in-season (i.e., within each period). My understanding is that NMFS considers the availability of fish, how quickly the quota has been caught in the past, and how much quota has been used when looking at adjustments to retention limits.

NC DMF has a representative on the HMS Advisory Panel (Randy Gregory), who is the lead on all HMS items for the division – he has met w/many of the affected fishermen, and has brought those concerns to the attention of the NMFS HMS staff. The HMS Advisory Panel is meeting this week (Dec. 1 and 2) up in Maryland and I am sure the 5-fish retention limit, and the impacts it has had on the ability of fishermen down this way to access those fish, will be a topic of discussion as well as avoiding a similar situation next year.

As the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council representative, I do have somewhat minimal input – while the Council does have a HMS Committee, we generally convene it to hear presentations on upcoming amendments at the request of NMFS HMS staff. We do have a meeting of this committee scheduled next week during the Council’s December meeting here in Atlantic Beach, and I expect the topic of the bluefin closure may come up under Other Business if we have time, but the agenda is pretty full. I am certainly willing to raise it given the opportunity, and hopefully will be able to talk to HMS staff who are there. Generally, when the Council provides input on an issue, we try to be as regional in our perspective as possible.

Thanks Michelle. You continue to be my hero and hope you can keep our northern friends from taking advantage of us poor southerners. Obviously this is political, and a few years ago when we went to the fisherman's rally in DC, we saw first hand the political power of the northern fishermen. At that rally was Senators Cary, Schumler, Frank and others. Those 3 are/were the most powerful folks in the Senate and they were there in support of their northern fishermen. As I recall the only representation NC had was Davis.

Any rate, thanks for your work on behalf of NC and the southern area. Is it ok if I post your comments on our OIFC page?

You are certainly welcome to post that on the OIFC page – I would just ask that you include the following contact info for folks who might wish to make comments to the NMFS HMS Division staff regarding possession limits for tuna next year:

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

Decided to play hooky this monday... after 4 days off for thanksgiving... love this life!!! Struck out to the Bluewater in hopes of a wahoo filled day.. despite possible windy conditions mid day, I crewed up with Chase and David Hutnik.. the Awesome Website Guy... and we took a 2 hour boat ride.. At around 110' of water we hit a well defined temperature break... still a bit shallow, I said throw some ballyhoo in the water and see if we could find a stray pelagic hanging around the temp break.. after the second bait hit the water and was being dropped back it was on... doubled up... no screaming run, but solid strikes and pull... David tackled the first fish and chase the second. Didn't take long on the Tiagra 50LRS's and a pair of........ CUDAS were boat side.. quick photo op. for David who had never landed a Barracuda and we packed in the gear and headed deeper... upon arriving at 160' of water we deployed baits and started the trolling action... it took forever to find a good bait mark and the fish.. we went 1/3 on wahoo. Decided to move inshore and give the bottom dwellers a shot.. Coming up with a few groupers, some beeliners and black bass. We had a good stock and variety to put in the fridge and on the tables. We called it a day and head back around 12 when the wind started to blow... short trip. but caught dinner for a few nights. David angled a nice 50# wahoo and we all have some good dinner fish. Hopefully the weather will lay down and we can get back at the Hoos soon.. it's an amazing fish and great on the table.

>
>
> CALL TO ACTION
> CONSERVATION OF MENHADEN WILL BENEFIT EVERYONE!
>
> In May of 2015, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) initiated Amendment 3 to the menhaden management plan to establish ecological management, and to review and possibly update state-by-state quota allocations. Since then, ASMFC staff, scientists and advisors have been developing and reviewing a range of ecological models and management strategies.
>
> At their annual meeting in October 2016, ASMFC's Menhaden Management Board unanimously approved the Public Information Document (PID) for Draft Amendment 3 for public comment. You can comment at upcoming hearings or in writing, now through January 4. 2017.
>
> Atlantic menhaden feed nearly every major predator along the East Coast, including striped bass, red drum, sea trout, bluefish, tuna, and king mackerel. The ASMFC is working on a plan to protect menhaden's critically important role in the Atlantic Ocean's ecosystem so they need to hear from you now.
>
> MOST MENHADEN PREDATORS ARE IN DECLINE!
>
> Atlantic predators of menhaden like striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, cod, king mackerel, cobia, osprey and humpback whales are struggling. Increasing the abundance of menhaden will help ensure these predators have enough food to achieve management goals for these species and the commercial and recreational fisheries that depend on them.
>
> PLEASE TELL THE ASMFC THAT ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT IS RIGHT FOR MENHADEN!
>
> Ecological management is right for menhaden, and Issue 1, Option D is the best solution now. The current approach that ASMFC uses for setting catch limits is wrong for menhaden because it is based on a single species approach and ignores their importance to the ocean food web and for other fisheries. The time has come to move away from "single species" management and adopt an ecosystem approach. The best available science supports Option D: managing to a target of 75 percent of the total menhaden biomass before large scale fishing, so menhaden can fulfill their role in the ocean food web, and ensure the population never drops below 40 percent. Science tells us that this amount would vastly reduce the impact of fishing on menhaden predators, and help menhaden continue to expand back into the northern and southern extents of their former range; while still providing ongoing substantial yields to fisheries.
>
> CONSERVATION WILL BENEFIT EVERYONE!
>
> Option D will enable the menhaden to continue to grow, while increasing menhaden's value to recreational fishing, commercial seafood, and tourism businesses that all depend on this important fish, and its predators.
>
> THE ASMFC WILL HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING IN NORTH CAROLINA ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 AT 5:30 PM
>
> The meeting to gather public comment on the PID will be held this Wednesday at the Division of Marine Fisheries Office in Morehead City, 5285 US Highway 70 West beginning at 5:30 PM. If you cannot attend in person, please use our Action Center to send an email to commissioners in support of Issue 1, Option D. Help Protect the Most Important Fish in the Sea
>
>
> Click here to unsubscribe from this mailing list.
>
-
Brant McMullan

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

I should begin with if you are a beginning fisherman or looking to take kids inshore fishing...Captain Jacob is your guy!!! His patience and knowledge was tested today as he set out to train Ashton, Katie and myself of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. From getting accidentally face slapped with a trout to untangling lines today, Captain Jacob not only taught the three of us how to tie our rigs, bait our hooks, and where to fish but also taught us HOW to catch trout!!! We had a blast today as we tested Captain Brant and Jacob's patience and caught a lot of fish! We ended our day with one flounder and three keeper trout. Jacob even taught us how to clean our fish and gave us a recipe for them! We can definitely say- the trout Bite is on!!! I should end with saying, even if you are an avid fisherman, Jacob can give you new tips and put you on the fish. Thank you Captain Brant and Captain Jacob for a great day!!! Come see us at the Fishing Center and we can hook you up with what you need and help put you on the fish! Sent from my iPhone

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

Keith and Sabrina Wilkinson finished 2nd in this year's Fall Brawl with a 43 pound King. They were admitted beginners; very gracious and thankful to many in the community that offered them help and advice that led to their tournament success in their first ever tournament.

The duo pledged to me at awards to help support the charity that the Fall Brawl supports and low and hehold, Keith and Sabrina showed up this weekend with a check totaling 5% of their Fall Brawl winnings to be donated to the Long Bay Artificial Reef Association. Beyond just that, they added in the memo line "In honor of the staff at OIFC". I was truly humbled and thankful for their incredible generosity. They gave another 5% of their winnings to the charity being supported by the Ocean Isle Flotilla that took place over the weekend.

Thanks again to Keith and Sabrina. The fish gods will look well upon you. Tight lines.

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

Fished Cy's World Trout Tournament with my sidekick Clay Morphis. We weighed a 4.05lb and 6.55lb speckled trout to take the trophy for the 5th year in a row! Great day fishing - I bet we caught over 80 trout and 20 reds! Thanks for the report Brandon & congratulations!

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

On Wednesday (11/23), I decided to join the crowd and head to the bluewater to see if I could get my Dad on his first wahoo. We put our spread out in about 115 feet and gradually made our way out towards the 100/400. Surprisingly, we picked at a few mahi and eventually found the fleet just northwest of the numbers around 175 feet. The bites were pretty consistent once we met that mark yet we couldn’t seem to put the hooks in a hoo. Frustrated with our hookup ratio, I finally switched over to a stealthier setup and hooked up immediately. After a short fight, gaff shot and some pictures, my Dad is now hooked on wahoo fishing and the bluewater. We even managed to find an illusive yellowfin tuna. Great way to spend time with the family around the holidays.

Monday is looking great for another make up trip to the Gulf Stream. $425/person. Call (910) 575-3474 to reserve your spot.

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

Started the day at the 100/400 big wahoo were being caught there as well as mahi and black fin! We had an early bite and it slowed down so we moved to the blackjack and picked up another wahoo and a few short strikes! Never had a wahoo hit so hard on a marado lure that the wahoo bit the hooks off the lure! Everything was caught on black and purple some guys were saying red and black! Also heard the guys at the steeples saying the blackfins were so thick they had 20 in the boat! It was slick out there today and was perfect couldn't have asked for a better day! Water temp was 76 today! Thanks for the great Report Billy!

Name:*

Email:*

Comment:*

Lobster on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner! We did a couple dives and found some "sea bugs" as well as a few Grouper and Hogfish. Pictured are Amy and Brayden McMullan and Austin Aycock. Also thanks to our co-divers and chaperones Cameron and Brittany Sebastian of Coastal Scuba.
PS- also shown here is video of a Great White shark that was filmed less than 5 miles from where we were diving; happy she didn't find her way to us!
Capt. Brant McMullan
-
Brant McMullan